﻿234 i^LLEN'S naturalist's LIBRARY. 



preferable to discard the Anglicised term Duck-billed Platypus 

 in favour of the simpler Duck-bill or Duck-Mole. 



When the first stuffed example of this extraordinary animal 

 reached Europe, it was boldly asserted that the specimen was a 

 fraud, made up of a Duck's bill affixed to the skin of some 

 large Mole-like creature. When, however, other examples were 

 received, and it became certain that the Duck-bill was a gen- 

 uine animal, the most unbounded curiosity and interest were 

 aroused by such a strange creature. Curiously enough, it was 

 then regarded as a connecting link between Mammals and the 

 lower Vertebrates; the main ground for this view being the Duck- 

 like beak, which, of course, is a mere specialised peculiarity 

 of the animal, and has nothing whatever to do with its many 

 bird-like and reptilian features. The long period that elapsed 

 before the Duck-bill was definitely proved to lay eggs, and the 

 still longer time that elapsed between the date of its first 

 description and the discovery that in the earlier stages of its 

 existence the creature possessed true teeth, have been already 

 alluded to. 



In spite of the circumstance that he was unable to discover 

 its real mode of reproduction, the best account that we possess of 

 the habits of the Duck-bill is that one published by Dr. George 

 Bennett, from observations made during the years 1 829-1 832 

 in Australia, from which the following extracts are taken : — 



After stating that in certain parts of Australia the creature is 

 known to the aborigines by the names of Mallang07ig^ or Tam- 

 brit^ the author proceeds to state that its favourite haunts are 

 those tranquil portions of the rivers termed " ponds " by the 

 colonists, on the surface of which various aquatic plants 

 spread their leaves in profusion. Among these plants the 

 Duck-bills may be seen by the cautious observer seeking their 

 food ; while the shaded banks afford them excellent situations 

 for the construction of their burrows. "In such circumstances 



